Janesville man displaced after apparent kitchen fire

JANESVILLE—A Janesville Fire Department official said a man was displaced from his home Sunday after he left cooking oil unattended and his kitchen caught fire at a duplex on Janesville's east side.

The Janesville Fire department responded to a house fire in the south unit of a one-story, two-unit duplex home at 2526 N. Lexington Drive at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

According to the news release, the man, the lone resident of the unit, had put water and cooking oil on the stove to heat, and then left for Woodman's Market, a grocery store a few blocks away to get some food. When he returned, the kitchen was on fire.

Firefighters were able to knock down the fire, which Janesville Fire Department Shift Cdr. Scott Morovits said likely started on the stove. The fire department estimated the fire caused $75,000 in structural damage and $15,000 in property damage. The fire did not appear to have spread to the attic and did not damage the adjoining unit of the duplex, the fire department reported.

The unit was uninhabitable and the Red Cross is supplying the man with temporary food and shelter. He said residents who live in the adjoining unit of the duplex were allowed to return Sunday night after firefighters secured the residence and cleared the smoke.